


What Might Have Been

by ammiehawk



Category: Gundam Wing, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-03
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-09-06 07:32:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8740501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ammiehawk/pseuds/ammiehawk
Summary: What's worse than waking up with amnesia? Why, waking up from a stint in the past and finding out everything you know is wrong, of course. Who will be his friend, enemies, and what will he make of his parents? AU, after DH, but picks up before 7 year. GW crossover





	1. What's Wrong, Harry?

What Might Have Been

By Ammie Hawk

 

Disclaimer: Don't own either Harry Potter or Gundam Wing. So sad, moving on. 

 

Summary: After Harry’s defeat of Voldemort, he decides to go back in time to the night Voldemort killed his parents and do it all over again, making sure he can’t come back and saving countless lives in the process. Only something goes wrong and he returns to his sixteen year old body with all his old memories intact and none of the life he was supposed to be creating for himself. GW crossover

 

AN: Okay, so this has been another of my once abandoned projects, that came back and bit me hard to be rewritten. Now, originally it was a straight up HP fic, but I made it a crossover, I think I changed the necessary elements, but if something doesn’t flow with the current timeline, please let me know so I can fix it.

 

Chapter 1: What’s Wrong, Harry?

 

Harry Potter opened his eyes and looked around. He was lying in his four-poster bed in Gryffindor tower. Wait a minute, Gryffindor tower? This couldn’t be right, could it? He’d not come back to school for his seventh year, and even if he did, the year was already over, wasn’t it? He groaned as he got up and pulled the covers off himself.

“Hey, Harry,” Ron looked up from the Quidditch magazine he was absently flipping through on his own bed. “Ready to go home for the summer?”

“Not really,” Harry muttered darkly, thinking of the Dursleys. “You know I hate it there.”

“What are you on about?” the redhead gave him a scowl. “I thought your parents were the greatest, why would you hate going there?”

“Are you feeling okay, Ron?” Harry looked at him in confusion. “You know my parents are dead, you’ve never met them, hell, I’ve never met them.”

“Um, Harry?” Ron gave him an equally confused look. “Maybe we should go see Madam Pomfrey, you’re talking nonsense.”

“I’m not the one spouting off the bullshit here, you are!” Harry yelled back furiously. “Don’t you remember? Voldemort killed my parents, he’s been trying to kill me since I was one, and I finally defeated him.”

“Whoa, slow down,” Ron held up his hands. “You-Know-Who died on Halloween almost sixteen years ago.”

“Sixteen years…?” Harry’s brow furrowed in thought, and then cleared as a smile broke across his features. “I did it! Oh my god, Ron, it worked! I went back and defeated that bastard!”

With that he ran out of the boys’ dormitory and headed down to the common room, looking for his female best friend. Hermione was sitting in one of the best chairs next to the fire, reading a rather large book that Harry didn’t bother to get the title of. He ran over and scooped her into his arms in a fierce hug and began twirling her around.

“I did it, Hermione!” he said as they spun around. “It worked!”

“What worked?” the brunette witch looked at him in confusion. “Oh no, you and Dray didn’t pull another prank did you? Or did you finally figure out that you’re gay?”

“Dray? Dray who?” Harry set her on her feet and looked at her in disbelief. “I don’t know any Dray. And I figured out I was gay at the end of the sixth year.”

“Oh come off it,” Ginny Weasley, who was sitting on the hearth rug, spoke up, a contemptuous edge lacing her tone. “Dray. Draco Malfoy. He’s only been your best friend for like, forever. And you are in sixth year, stupid.”

“I’m not friends with Malfoy,” Harry shook his head. “We hate each other.”

“That’s it,” Ron had finally made it down the stairs to hear this. “We’re going to see Dumbledore. You’ve been acting odd ever since you woke up this morning. Hermione, go get Professor Barton-Chang, Ginny get Snape, Neville,” he addressed the round-faced boy in the other armchair, “go find Malfoy and Black. Oh wait, they’re in a last minute detention with Barton-Chang. Never mind, Hermione, you can get them, too.”

“We’re not taking him to Dumbledore,” Hermione shook her head. “We’ll take him to Professor Barton-Chang.”

“No, we’ll take him to Dumbledore,” the redhead glared at her. “Now, are you gonna go or not?”

“Fine,” she ground out, and followed Ginny through the portrait hole, a defiant line to her shoulders.

Harry watched them leave and then turned to his best friend.

“Come off it, Ron,” he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “There’s nothing wrong with me. And why did you send them after those three. Sirius is dead, and I can’t stand Snape, not that it matters since he’s dead too, or Malfoy. And I don’t even know Professor Barton-Chang.”

“You must’ve hit your head or something yesterday,” Ron and Neville shared a look. “I knew pulling that last prank on Snape was a bad idea. Come on, we’ll get you up to Dumbledore and he’ll straighten all this out.”

Without waiting for a response, the two other Gryffindors grabbed Harry by the arms and began dragging him toward the headmaster’s office. As they reached the gargoyle guarding the stairs up to Dumbledore’s office, they paused.

“Oh shit,” Ron muttered. “I don’t know the password.”

“Toffee éclairs,” Harry wracked his brain for the last password he remembered from his sixth year.

The gargoyle sprang to life and moved out of the way, revealing a long spiraling staircase that moved slowly upward. Ron and Neville, after giving him a strange look, pulled Harry through the opening and they made their way slowly up to the door at the top. Once there, Ron knocked loudly, almost impatiently.

“Enter,” Dumbledore’s calm voice answered, and Harry’s breath caught in his chest.

This just couldn’t be real. Dumbledore was still alive! Did he really alter the past that much, that the three people he wanted to speak with most were back from the dead? What about the others? Maybe his parents were still alive, maybe Ron was right. He shook his head, no, he wouldn’t get his hopes up. He just had to be dreaming, that was it, he was dreaming.

“Ah, Harry, my boy,” Dumbledore smiled as the three Gryffindors entered his office. “I must say I’m quite surprised to see you. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“He’s been acting funny since he woke up, Professor,” Ron answered for the stunned brunet. “He keeps saying strange things. Like how he’s not friends with Malfoy, and that Professor Snape is dead, and he doesn’t know Professor Barton-Chang. He also said that You-Know-Who killed his parents, and has been after him since he was a baby.”

“Hmm,” a pensive look crossed Dumbledore’s face as he eyed Harry. “Won’t you please have a seat?”

He pulled out his wand and conjured a chair, which Ron and Neville lowered Harry into and then took their leave. But Harry didn’t relax, he had to get him to understand, he had to understand. This was all just too confusing at the moment.

“Now, Harry,” Dumbledore gave him a piercing look, “could this possibly be an elaborate end of year prank? I know how you like to go out with a bang. Don’t worry, I won’t ruin it for the rest of the school, I just need to know.”

“No, sir, it’s not a prank,” Harry shook his head. “Voldemort is a serious matter, I’d never joke about him.”

“Tell me, my boy, what is the last thing you remember doing?” Dumbledore asked, his expression neutral.

“Truthfully, I remember killing the old fart after destroying all his Horcruxes so he couldn’t come back to life,” Harry sighed.

“Where did you hear that term?” Dumbledore’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“From you,” Harry shook his head. “You told me all about them, well, Voldemort’s at least, in my sixth year. Hermione actually got the book on them after you died.”

“I can assure you, I’ve never had a conversation with you about Horcruxes,” Dumbledore shook his head. “And as you can see, I’m very much alive.”

“But you weren’t,” the brunet threw up his hands in frustration. “You died at the end of my sixth year, I was there, I saw Snape kill you.”

“I can assure you, Harry,” came a voice from the door that Harry almost recognized, “that I would never do something like that. It would not be worth the prison sentence. And as it stands, this is the last day of your sixth year, or are you telling me that I am to kill him before the train leaves in a few hours time?”

“Snape!” Harry whirled around and saw the Potions master standing just inside the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms folded across his chest.

“Now that’s a first,” the somewhat less greasy man than Harry remembered smirked. “Never in your life have you called me that, your classmates, yes, but you, Harry, no. I have enough trouble keeping you from calling me Uncle every day.”

“What’s going on here?” a distinctly Asian man appeared beside Snape, Hermione, Malfoy, and another boy Harry didn’t know in tow. “Hermione was saying something about Hairu having amnesia or something. Though why he was brought to you and not straight to me is baffling to me. You know how I feel about this Dumbledore.”

“I don’t have amnesia!” Harry interrupted in frustration. “I’m telling you the truth. Hermione, don’t you remember? You helped me figure out a spell to go back in time, to defeat Voldemort before he had a chance to ruin my life. We wanted a better future. You have to remember.”

“I think I may have an idea of what is going on here,” Dumbledore smiled and sat back, his eyes twinkling madly. “Severus, would you be so kind as to…”

“It has already been done, Albus,” the Potions Master rolled his eyes. “As if I would not inform those two of anything involving Harry. They should be here any minute.”

As if on cue, the fireplace flared an emerald green and two people stepped into the office. Harry looked into their concerned faces and promptly fell to the floor in a dead faint.


	2. Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third day of Christmas chapter here we come. Hope it’s everything and more…

Chapter 2: Memories

 

Harry groaned as his eyes fluttered open, only to meet the concerned blue eyes of one Hermione Granger. The witch sighed in relief as she helped him sit up. He took a quick inventory of the room he was now in, it wasn’t one he recognized.

“Oh, Hermione,” he sighed, dropping his head into his hands to stop the pounding. “I had the strangest dream. Everyone was acting strange and there were so many people that should have been dead in it.”

“Harry,” the girl shook her head slowly, “I’m sorry, but you just passed out. Dumbledore sent us here so he could talk with the adults.”

“But that can’t be,” he shook his head vehemently. “Dumbledore is dead. You have to remember, Hermione. Please tell me you remember helping me go back and fix things.”

“If what you say is true,” Hermione worried her lip, glancing behind Harry, “then no, I wouldn’t remember. Logically, you shouldn’t either.”

“Harry,” a familiar, yet unfamiliar, voice drawled from behind him, “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I want you to know we’re here for you. Marauders stick together, right? Isn’t that what Uncle Sirius is always telling us?”

“Marauders?” Harry looked at the blond Slytherin in confusion. “How do you know of the Marauders, Malfoy?”

“Ha, ha, ha, Harry, very funny,” the other boy who had come in with the pair rolled his eyes. “Come off it, the three of us,” he indicated himself, Harry, and Draco, “have been Marauders since our first day at Hogwarts. Dad initiated us before we got on the train, much to everyone but Uncle Duo’s chagrin.”

“Draco! Alec!” Hermione scolded, turning a glare on the pair. “I explained this to you earlier. Harry doesn’t remember the past six years, at least not like we do.”

Before anyone else could say anything, the door opened and five very grave looking adults entered the room. Tears filled Harry’s eyes as he took in the tall form of his godfather.

“Si-Sirius?” he said quietly, a single drop escaping down his cheek.

“Hairu,” the man with the strange bang took a step forward, only to be stopped by the dog Animagus.

“Reg, give him a minute,” Sirius sighed. “It’s kinda obvious he doesn’t remember you. You should know how that goes. I’ll give you points, Harry,” he turned to address the teen, “this is a very convincing act you’ve got going on here. Now, come one, the prank’s over.”

“But Sirius,” Harry shook his head, “I’m not lying, you have to believe me.”

“Harry,” Dumbledore addressed the brunet, his voice quiet. “I think I know what is going on, but I have no clue as to why or how it happened. But first, I’d like to clarify a few things.”

Harry nodded to show he was listening and willing to do anything to sort this all out.

“First, you say that three of us are dead, that you remember them dying?”

“Yes,” he nodded again, “I saw all of you die. As for the other two, I have no clue who they are. Why are they even here?”

“I see,” the old man got a thoughtful look. “We’ll address that issue in a moment. My second question, you say you went into the past to stop Voldemort from ruining your life?”

“I went back in time, yes,” he said quietly, looking imploringly at Hermione for help. “Hermione helped me with a spell to take me to the moment Voldemort attacked my parents. It wasn’t difficult, once I got there, I’d already done it once anyway, and finding the Horcruxes wasn’t difficult either, since I knew where all of them were and two of them hadn’t been created yet, of course I didn’t find one of them.”

“So you mean there’s still a chance he could come back?” Snape asked in surprised disbelief, gripping his left forearm tightly.

“No,” Dumbledore shook his head. “I shall explain that later, but for now, I’d like for us to see what Harry remembers, for therein most likely lies our answers. If that is all right with you, my boy?”

“How will we do that, sir?” he asked, slightly confused.

“There are two options,” Dumbledore smiled faintly, “the first being Veritaserum, however…”

“The use on a student is regrettably forbidden, yeah, I know,” Harry rolled his eyes, and then seeing everyone’s confusion, said quickly, “Snape told me in my fourth year when he thought I stole gillyweed and some ingredients to make Polyjuice Potion.”

“I find it disconcerting, Harry, that you call me that,” Snape shook his head. “As much as it pains me to admit, I much prefer you calling me Uncle Sevvie to that. And I would hope that you would ask my permission before brewing such a difficult potion on your own, especially since your potion making skills are not the best.”

“Severus,” Dumbledore cut in quietly, “I very much doubt the boy is lying. So the only way we can really know if what he says is the truth, is to examine his memories.”

“I’m not letting anyone use Legilimancy on me!” Harry spat vehemently, glaring at Snape.

“No one here would dare,” the Asian man locked eyes with the headmaster.

“No one was suggesting that, Professor Barton-Chang,” the headmaster held up his hands. “I was thinking more along the lines of a Pensieve.”

“That I can handle,” Harry sighed in relief. “So, your office, sir?”

“Of course,” Dumbledore looked disconcerted for a brief moment but shook his head and motioned everyone back into the other room.

The headmaster motioned for everyone to take a seat and pulled out his old Pensieve. Harry was pulled down onto the seat between the unibanged man and the Asian Professor. His eyes darted around wildly for a moment, but Sirius gave him an encouraging smile so he relaxed slightly. His godfather was on the couch next to them, with Snape and the boy Hermione called Alec. While Hermione and Malfoy took up the other two chairs provided.

“Now, let’s start at the beginning, shall we?” Dumbledore motioned for Harry to place his memories into the basin. “I’m going to be projecting this so we don’t all have to dive into the Pensieve, but that way we can all know what you remember, Harry,” Dumbledore explained, prodding the silvery-blue substance with his wand.

Harry’s childhood flashed before the assembled crowd, up till his eleventh birthday. When it was finished, most everyone sat in stunned silence.

“Why on earth,” Sirius finally broke the silence, vehemently, “were you sent to live with them? Why didn’t you come and live with me and Severus? Or Heero and Quatre? Hell, even Duo and Lucius would’ve taken him in.”

“The question here is not why was he sent there,” the unibanged man’s one visible eye narrowed dangerously. “We know that answer. The question is why he was not retrieved in the first months. I believe we should continue, that is the only way we can possibly figure that out.”

He leaned forward, wand raised, and pulled the strand of memories out and put the back inside Harry’s head. Harry gave him a funny look, but extracted his memories of first year and again they all watched in silence.

“So you and I weren’t friends?” Draco sat back in disbelief as the memory came to an end. “I can’t believe that! That’s just impossible, we’ve been together since we were babies, I’m your best friend, not Ron! He’s a git and a bigot, we don’t hang out with him.”

“Don’t pout, Draco,” Snape placed his hand on the blond’s shoulder. “And I have never treated a child like that, unless they earned it, but never for the transgressions of the parents.”

“I want to know where the hell I was,” Alec looked around at the others, though his outburst earned him a flick on the ear from the Potions Master. “Ow! Dad! All I’m saying is that we’ve been in this together the entire time, me, Dray, and Harry. Dad initiated us into the Marauders before we even got on the train. I mean, for crying out loud, us befriending Hermione was pretty similar, we’d had a spat in Charms and decided to prank her on Halloween, but she got the better of us and became the fourth.”

“I have a feeling I know what happened there as well,” the unibanged man scowled.

“The Norbert fiasco was similar,” Hermione shook her head. “Only Dray didn’t report us to Professor McGonagall, Ron did, the sodding sneak. Alec was in the infirmary with a bite, he’d convinced the twins to write Charlie, I was doing lookout, and you and Dray took him to the Astronomy tower.”

“Her,” Harry corrected quietly. “She goes by Norberta now.”

“The only thing to do with the Sorcerer’s Stone,” Professor Barton-Chang shook his head, “was a report that I assigned for extra credit, as a potentially dangerous artifact that has no classification as such.”

“You were the youngest seeker in a century,” Sirius smiled proudly. “According to Minerva, it was a similar experience that led you to that position.”

Harry smiled at his godfather, glad that he could do something to make the Animagus proud. The man beside him smiled faintly as he proceeded to exchange the memories.

“Wow!” the three self-proclaimed Marauders said in unison as it finished.

“That’s almost how it happened too!” Alec shook his head in disbelief. “No flying car though. Uncle Fei came and got us. Excuse me, Uncle Wufei,” he amended at a look from the Asian man. “And Lockhart wasn’t our teacher, he came of his own accord to ‘deal’ with the problem.”

“And it wasn’t father,” Draco added. “It was Narcissa who brought the diary.”

“So it was destroyed?” Harry asked eagerly. “It was actually destroyed? I couldn’t find it when I searched the Malfoy manor when I went back.”

“Yes, my dear boy,” Dumbledore nodded. “It appears Voldemort will never be able to come back, if what you tell us is truth.”

“But how did I speak Parseltongue?” Harry shook his head. “If I didn’t have that piece of Voldemort, how did I do that?”

“As a member of the Dragon Clan,” Wufei interjected, “I possess the ability to communicate with both dragons and snakes, granted snakes are easier to understand, however, as my son you also possess that ability.”

“Wait, what?” Harry shook his head, and attempted to get up, only the other man stopped him. “You’re not my dad. My dad is James Potter and Lily Potter is my mother.”

Dark eyes blazed as they turned from Harry to the headmaster, “I warned you, Dumbledore! I warned you that something like this could happen back in his third year.”

“Wufei.”

“No, Trowa,” Wufei shook his head. “I’ve put up with this bullshit for the past fifteen years. I am through playing nice.”

“We can deal with that later,” Trowa put his hand on Wufei’s shoulder. “Right now, we need to finish this and get Hairu home.”

At Wufei’s terse nod, he retrieved the next set of memories.

“What?!” Sirius shouted when the memory faded. “That rat put me in Azkaban?! If he hadn’t already been Kissed, I’d kill him. I can’t believe everyone thought I’d betray my friends like that, not that those two were ever my friends, but still.”

“Peter was Kissed?” Harry asked in confusion.

“Yes, he was,” Snape’s lip twitched as he tried not to sneer. “The Potters insisted on it when the Dark Lord’s body was found within the Fidelius Charm.”

“It was James that escaped from Azkaban that year,” the dog Animagus snarled. “He wanted to finish what he and Lily had started, and bring back their precious Voldemort.”

“What do you mean?” Harry gripped his head as if in pain. “They weren’t loyal to him. They died protecting me.”

“Hairu,” the unibanged man rubbed his back, “there is a story we need to tell you, but we will take care of that at home. Just please, try and relax so we can get through this, so we understand what you are going through.”

“Shall we continue?” Dumbledore asked, looking at his watch. “Or should we take a break for lunch?”

“I think lunch is in order,” Wufei nodded, snapping his fingers. “Dobby!”

The energetic house-elf appeared and bowed low before the assembled humans, “Master Wufei is calling for Dobby?”

“Yes,” Wufei smirked slightly at Harry’s dumbfounded look. “If you’d be so kind as to bring us some lunch, we’d very much appreciate it.”

The elf nodded and popped away. A few minutes later, he reappeared with a large platter of sandwiches and a large jug of pumpkin juice.

“You know,” Draco chewed his sandwich thoughtfully. “You said that most everyone here was dead. But the only people who have died are Lily and James Potter, and nobody misses them.”

“What?” Harry looked at the blond in confusion.

“What did I do?” he asked nervously. “All I said was…”

“People do care,” Harry snapped. “They were heroes. They were my parents.”

“No, Harry,” Sirius sighed, since he seemed to believe him most, “they weren’t. James and Lily Potter were Death Eaters. They are both serving a life sentence on Mars, in Preventer prison, for kidnapping.”

“No, that can’t be true,” Harry shook his head. “They died protecting me from Voldemort. They couldn’t be Death Eaters.”

“Look,” Draco interrupted before anything else could be said, “all that aside, it still doesn’t explain how or when the others died. I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on.”

“Why would it matter to you, Malfoy?” Harry glared at the blond. “We’re not friends, so what are you even doing here?”

“Harry,” Hermione said patiently. “As we said earlier, you and Draco were practically raised together, what with how close all our dads are. You call them uncle.”

Harry, who had just taken a drink, spit it out all over the desk in front of him, “What?! I’d never call him that! Yeah, Malfoy and I may have saved each other’s necks a couple times in seventh year, but, no!”

“God, I swear you get that from Duo,” Wufei grabbed a towel and started cleaning up the mess. “You may get your wish, I may just decide you’re not allowed to go over there anymore.”

“You mentioned seventh year,” Snape leaned forward curiously. “But you haven’t even started seventh year yet, how is it possible for you to return to this point in time? Wouldn’t you go back to the point from which you left?”

“That is part of what we are trying to figure out, Severus,” Dumbledore cut in gently. “If you are ready, Harry, we can continue.”

Harry nodded and extracted the memories of his fourth year.

“Well, there was no Death Eater attack at the World Cup,” Alec shook his head. “But we did go, Uncle Duo and Uncle Lucius took us, cause Mione’s parents couldn’t go and our dads were busy with school.”

“And you were the fourth champion,” Wufei ground his teeth together, as if replaying some unpleasant memory. “That bastard Karkaroff put your name in. He was trying to get rid of you, blaming you for Voldemort’s sudden demise. And someone didn’t stop it from happening,” he glared at the headmaster.

“Wufei,” Trowa gave him a pointed look.

“Though you and Mr. Diggory did end up getting the Cup together, you both won,” Snape had a look of pride on his face.

“And you did give your share of the winnings to Fred and George,” Sirius added. “We all pitched in to help them with their dream.”

“Though it wasn’t Ron at the bottom of the lake,” Draco pouted.

“No, of course not,” Harry rolled his eyes, he could see how he could be friends with Malfoy, it wasn’t too different than being enemies. “It was you, right?”

“Yeah,” the Slytherin’s eyes lit up at this revelation. “I’m so glad you understand now.”

Harry bit back a laugh and shook his head before gathering up the memories and placing in the next batch.

“Well, Umbridge was here that year,” Hermione said thoughtfully. “After what happened with Karkaroff and all. And she was the High Inquisitor and really liked to pick on you. But she never had any real authority.”

“We did form the D.A.,” Draco smiled fondly at the memory. “You and I got Wufei to help us out, cause Umbridge was monitoring his classes really close.”

“So that’s what you meant when you said you missed Sirius,” Trowa gave Harry a sympathetic look. “I would’ve missed him too, if he’d left like that.”

“You have no room to talk, Regulus Black,” Sirius pointed at the unibanged man.

“Wait, I thought his name was Trowa?” Harry looked at Sirius confused. “He can’t be Regulus, he died when he was eighteen, trying to take down Voldemort.”

“Another story for another time,” Wufei shook his head.

“But, alas, it would’ve been the way to go,” Sirius said wistfully. “I mean think about it, fighting to the death with the likes of my dear cousin Bellatrix.”

“You would see it like that, wouldn’t you?” Harry rolled his eyes at his godfather’s antics. “I missed you. I even went so far as to use an Unforgivable on that bitch.”

“Harry!” “Hairu!” Hermione and Wufei said together.

“What? I’m not the only one who thinks that way, Molly called her one too,” Harry ducked his head sheepishly.

It was one thing for Hermione to scold him, but the Asian man was a whole different story, for some indescribable reason.

“Molly? As in Weasley?” Snape’s brow shot up in question.

“That would be the only Molly I know,” Harry shrugged. “But that wasn’t till the final battle, when Bellatrix tried to kill Ginny.”

“Well, it appears we are up to this year,” Dumbledore smiled bemusedly, motioning for Harry to present the next set of memories.

Everyone watched in something akin to horror at the display before them. Never in their wildest dreams would they have imagined such a life as the one Harry was presenting.

“You’re telling me,” Draco said at the end, his mouth open in disbelief, “that I joined the Death Eaters and was supposed to kill Dumbledore?”

“And that I actually did, because of an Unbreakable Vow with that cow?” Severus shook his head. “There had to be a better reason for my doing something like that.”

“There is,” Harry shrugged and placed the last year of memories into the Pensieve.

“Though Ron and Lavender are together, it’s quite disgusting really,” Hermione pulled a face. “But I’m sorry,” her tone anything but, “Ginny has been with Neville since fourth year. Though you’ve always said that she reminded you of Relena and you would never consider going out with her.”

“Fine by me,” Harry shrugged. “I don’t know why I went out with her. Besides, gay remember? And who the hell is Relena? You know what,” he held up his hand, “never mind. I’ll figure that out later.”

The final year was the worst for all present. Alec and Hermione kept making faces at each other, while Draco looked at Harry pleadingly, wishing all these things weren’t true.

“You’re saying that he killed me, for a wand?” Snape asked in disbelief. “That man was insane, I can’t believe I followed him at all.”

“But you redeemed yourself,” Harry smiled at the Potions Master for the first time. “You played the role you were supposed to, you were a good man.”

“Surely the Deathly Hallows aren’t real though?” Hermione looked to Wufei, hoping for confirmation.

“I’m afraid that they are, my dear,” the headmaster smiled, pulling out his wand. “As you can see, this is the Elder wand, Harry has the Invisibility Cloak, and I assume you once again ‘lost’ the Resurrection Stone.”

“I threw it into the Inferi lake in the cave, sir,” Harry said quietly. “After I destroyed the Horcrux, that is. It was the last thing I did in the past.”

“I see,” Dumbledore’s smile got wider. “You learned well, my dear boy.”

“Okay,” Wufei shook his head, “I can accept the fact that we just watched seventeen years of my son’s life that I had no part of, and that all this happened in some other reality. But what I don’t get and can’t accept is how the hell this happened on your watch, Dumbledore. And how the hell did he return with the incorrect memories?”

“That is still a mystery,” Dumbledore shook his head sadly. “I had hoped that by reviewing the memories of young Harry we’d discover this, but alas, that is not the case. However, Harry, I suggest that you take this time to do as you planned and enjoy what you missed out on.”

“I’ll do that, sir,” Harry nodded, a smile pulling at the edges of his mouth.


	3. Home, Friends, and Family

Chapter 3: Home, Friends, and Family

 

By the time they had finished with the Pensieve, it was too late to catch the train to London, so all assembled used Dumbledore’s Floo to travel home. Sirius went first, with Alec; followed by Trowa, who was taking Hermione home to her parents. Before anyone else could leave, Harry grabbed Snape’s arm.

“Sir, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” he bit his lip, his eyes downcast.

“Oh, Harry,” Snape smiled down at the Gryffindor, placing his free hand on his shoulder. “I could never fault you for my actions. I see now that I would’ve treated you that way, if for no other reason than to protect you. And since all of that is irrelevant now, I hope that, at the very least, you can call me Severus, as I am married to your uncle.”

“I’ll try, sir—I mean, Severus,” he gave him a slightly confused smile.

“That is all that I can ask, Harry,” in a move that surprised the teen, he enveloped him in a warm hug. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Dinner?” Harry looked even more confused.

“Its tradition,” Wufei gave him a flash of a smile. “Our four families get together for dinner the first night back from school. Your three little friends will be there as well, so you won’t be alone with the adults, though with Duo there you’d never be considered the only child present.”

“O-kay…” the raven haired teen shook his head.

“Well, we should probably go home and prepare for battle,” he took hold of Harry’s arm and guided him to the fireplace, threw in floo powder, and stepped inside still holding tight to Harry.

They landed in the living room of a nice looking house. The Asian man helped Harry keep his feet, a dark scowl marring his features.

“That is unacceptable,” he shook his head. “Apparently, your actual memory isn’t the only thing you lost, your muscle memory is suffering as well. We’ll fix that. After everyone leaves, take tonight and rest up, we’ll start training at dawn. In the meantime, let me show you around, since you don’t remember your own home.”

He was shown the living room, which aside from being pretty teched out for a wizarding family, was pretty standard. The kitchen, once again high tech, smelled really good from the food that was currently cooking. Then there was an office, with two computers, followed by a fully equipped gym and training room.

The tour ended in his bedroom, which once again consisted of an odd assortment of wizard and Muggle decorations. There were posters of various Quidditch teams alongside some of Muggle machines he was sure were called Gundams, though he didn’t know how he knew that. Most prominently though was a cork board, above a desk with a sleek laptop laying closed on top of it, with a collage of both moving and stationary photographs.

Once he was alone, he moved over to examine the pictures more closely. There were several with a much younger version of himself with the Asian and the unibanged man. Some with him, Snape, and Sirius. There were several with people he didn’t know at all. On the bottom half of the board, more numerous than the ones with the grownups, were of him, Malfoy, Hermione, and Alec, going all the way from when they were in diapers up through Hogwarts.

He turned suddenly, his wand flying to his hand, as he heard the door open behind him.

“Whoa,” Alec held up his hands. “Probably should’ve knocked. Anyway, looks like I’m the first one here this year. Mione and Dray should be here before too long.”

“Alex, right?” Harry lowered his wand and sat down on the bed.

“Alec, with a C,” he corrected.

“Yeah, Alec,” he shook his head. “I’m confused. I get that I woke up in an alternate timeline, but who are you? You weren’t even in my past, at least the past I remember.”

“I’m not sure about that one, either,” the brunet shrugged. “But here,” he motioned to the board, “I’ll explain a few things.”

Harry pushed to his feet, not seeing any harm in getting a few facts on his new life.

“We’ll start here,” Alec pointed to one of the pictures. “These are your dads, Wufei Chang and Trowa Barton, aka Regulus Black. These are your uncles, Sirius Black and Severus Snape, my parents. These are your dads’ good friends, and Hermione’s parents, Heero Yuy and Quatre Winner. Heero’s also one of your godfathers. Then we have your other godfather, Duo Maxwell, and his husband, Lucius Malfoy, Draco’s parents. As you can see, the four of us kinda grew up together.”

“I thought you said earlier, that we weren’t friends with Hermione till first year,” Harry’s brow furrowed.

“Well, we kinda weren’t,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “Ya see, growing up it was kinda us against her. Ya know, only girl, didn’t really fit in. We were dicks, but then again we were kids, and we grew out of it. Then again, she can kick our asses, well except you, but then again you are heir to the Dragon Clan.”

A soft knock sounded on the door, interrupting their conversation. Alec went over and opened the door, admitting both Draco and Hermione. The pair made their way into the room, and the blond promptly sprawled all over the full sized bed. The bushy haired witch rolled her eyes and took the desk chair.

“So,” she said, noting Harry’s proximity to the picture board, “anything come back yet?”

“It’s a lot to take in,” the raven haired teen sighed, “but I don’t think it would be that easy. This isn’t just a case of amnesia or erased memories. I actually lived a completely different life, I went back to change one thing and woke up to this shit and I have no clue what is going on. All I know is that everything is screwed up and I’m going to find out what went wrong and how I can fix it.”

“Okay,” Draco propped himself up on his elbows. “Count us in. We’ll help in any way we can.”

“I can’t ask you to do that,” Harry rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t trust you, Malfoy, but on top of that, I can’t risk putting any of you in danger.”

“Harry,” Hermione sighed and went over to him. “Look, you may not trust Draco, but you do trust me. And you relied on me before, in this other reality, you didn’t ask for it then either, but I’m just as stubborn, if not more so, than that Hermione. You couldn’t stop me then, and you can’t stop us now. Whether you like it or not, we’re going to help you, so just shut up and accept it.”

The bespectacled teen couldn’t help but smile at that. It was good to know that Hermione was still Hermione, even in this messed up world he’d found himself in.

Before anything else could be said, a loud rapping started on the door. Without waiting for an answer, the door creaked open and a man’s head appeared with a long braid trailing toward the floor.

“Hey, kiddos,” the man gave them a huge grin, “dinner’s ready, and Tro-man’s created a veritable feast, so we better hurry so it doesn’t go to waste.”

“Sweet!” Alec bounded over to the door. “Uncle Trowa makes the best food ever.”

“And here I remember you saying the exact same thing about my food last year,” the braided man folded his arms over his chest. “I think you just like food.”

The brunet just stuck his tongue out as he darted from the room. Hermione shook her head and followed him out. Draco heaved a sigh and got off the bed to follow his friends. The man stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. They seemed to have a silent conversation before the blond shook his head and continued his retreat.

“So, Harry,” he threw his arm around the teen’s shoulders, “Fei and Tro filled us in on what happened earlier today, and I just want you to know that I’m still here for you. Hell, we all are, but you know. You always call your Uncle Duo if you need something. That being said, don’t hesitate to call, day or night. I don’t care, you pick up that phone.”

“Phone?” Harry asked confused.

“Don’t tell me you lost your cell phone?” Duo looked at him aghast. “Heero, Fei, and I did not spend two whole months and countless upgrades so you kids could have a phone at Hogwarts for you to have lost it.”

By this time, they had reached the dining room, where everyone else was waiting.

“It’s in his trunk, Duo,” Wufei scoffed. “I personally went back and gathered all his belongings from Gryffindor Tower. Now, why don’t you stop treating my son like a hostage and we can commence with dinner.”

Duo finally released him and made his way to the empty seat beside Lucius Malfoy. Wufei directed Harry to one of the two remaining chairs and took the other for himself.

“Before we begin,” the Asian man cleared his throat, “some introductions apparently need to be made. Most everyone you are now at least familiar with, Hairu, and you’ve had the unpleasant misfortune of being reintroduced to Duo Maxwell. The two remaining are Heero Yuy, he’s your godfather, and Quatre Raberba Winner, they are Hermione’s parents.”

Harry nodded in their direction before looking around the rest of the table.

“Great!” Duo clapped his hands together. “Let’s bless this feast and eat.”

“You’ll have to ignore him, Hairu,” Trowa shook his head, a small smile on his face. “He likes to pretend he’s religious.”

And with that, dinner began. Conversation flowed easily around the table, for everyone but Harry, but he didn’t mind. The topics ranged from school, to work, to politics, and other things he didn’t try to keep up with, but no one was willing to bring up the elephant in the room, at least not over dinner.

Harry had to admit though, the camaraderie and sense of family within the group was nice. It reminded him of summers at the Burrow, or even the time he’d spent with the Order of the Phoenix. He wished that he could accept this new life, a chance to have the family he’d always dreamed of, but he really wasn’t sure he could.

“Well,” Wufei said, once everyone had eaten their fill, “I think it’s time to head to the living room. I believe it is time for us to share our life with Hairu.”

Everyone agreed and began clearing the remaining food and dishes from the table. Between all of them, it took very little time to get everything squared away. They then headed into the living room, and found seats around the large television. Duo, however, made his way over to the entertainment center and began going through a stack of discs.

“Damn,” he said, finally locating the one he’d been looking for. “I don’t think we’ve watched this one since the kids were babies.”

“Not since the Potter incident,” Trowa added, pulling Harry onto the couch next to him, as he wasn’t sure where he should go.

“Anyway,” the braided man popped it in the player and grabbed the remote, “let’s get this party started.”

He plopped down on the couch beside Lucius and hit play.

_The screen started off blank and then transformed into a bright hospital room. The main focus was a much younger Wufei, propped up in the bed, his hair falling out of its usual tail and his face glistening with sweat._

_“Get that fucking thing out of my face, Maxwell,” the teen on the screen snarled, as Trowa entered the frame. “You stay the fuck away from me, Trowa Barton!”_

“I think we can skip ahead, Duo,” the present day Trowa spoke up. “I don’t think we should actually traumatize the children.”

“Right,” the braided man chuckled nervously and hit the fast forward button. He waited a few minutes and then hit play again.

_The screen cleared to reveal a small bundle being handed to Trowa. A soft smile crossed his face as he stared down at the newborn. He then turned to Wufei, who looked completely spent._

_“It’s a boy,” the unibanged teen said quietly. “Do you want to hold him?”_

_Wufei nodded, holding his arms out for his son. Very carefully, Trowa shifted the bundle over. He then leaned over, and together they studied the new addition to their lives._

_“What are we going to call him?” Trowa asked quietly, almost seeming hesitant to break the tranquility that had surrounded them._

_“Hairu,” the other answered without hesitation. “Hairu Barton-Chang.”_

_“It’s perfect,” the visible green eye softened again as he placed a kiss on Wufei’s temple._

_“Are you trying to give the kid a complex?” Duo’s voice broke the moment. “Hairu? Are you serious? It sounds like a fish.”_

_“You have no room to talk, Maxwell,” dark eyes narrowed dangerously at the camera. “Your son is named Draco, for crying out loud.”_

_“Luc named him, not me,” the braided man protested. “And apparently, it’s a family thing. Besides, we’re not talking about Dray, we’re talking about Hai-ree. Wait, Harry, its perfect. I’ll call him Harry.”_

_“It’s Hairu,” Wufei said through clenched teeth._

_“Hey,” the camera turned to the door, where Sirius’ head was poking in. “Heard my nephew was here.”_

_“Sirius,” a voice from off screen scolded._

_“Don’t ‘Sirius’ me, Sev, he’s your nephew too, and I know you want to see him too,” he pushed the door fully open and carefully made his way over to the bed. Carefully only because of Snape’s hand on his shoulder and the fact that he was quite obviously very pregnant. “So, Reg, what’s his name?”_

_“Hairu,” Trowa supplied quietly._

_“Huh?” the dog Animagus looked at him in confusion._

_“Harry, just call him Harry,” Duo stage whispered._

The video cut out abruptly, leaving Harry rather confused.

“You tried to kill me,” the braided man gave Wufei an indignant look.

“It was quite impressive, if I recall correctly,” Severus chuckled slightly. “Wufei had just given birth, with the baby still in his arms, and practically leapt out of the bed, grabbed Duo’s braid, and had it wrapped around his neck before any of us realized what was going on. However, Trowa and Sirius managed to pull him off.”

“Duo’s eminent death aside,” Wufei shook his head, “that was your birth. We named your godparents the following day, after Heero and Quatre came to see you. Though, why Trowa named Duo your other godfather is beyond me.”

“We discussed it before, love,” the unibanged man shook his head. “Anyway, about a month later, Alec was born, and for the next year we were all quite happy.”

“However, shortly after your first birthday, Hairu,” Heero interjected, a dark scowl on his face, “you were all kidnapped, and our memories were tampered with.”

“Technically, Alec and Draco weren’t,” Quatre put his hand on his husband’s forearm. “Alec was given to Trowa and Wufei, and Lucius still had Draco, he just thought he was married to Narcissa Black.”

“If that’s true,” the raven haired teen frowned, “how did you figure out what happened?”

“I figured it out, with the help of the video we just watched,” Trowa shook his head. “Ever since I lost my memory during the war, I vowed I would never forget anything again, and I can only assume that my magic decided to help with that. I say that, because I can’t really explain it, but I had a feeling that something wasn’t right. I’m not sure exactly what possessed me, but on Christmas Eve of that year I found the video recording while I was cleaning our bedroom and watched it. Immediately, the memory charm broke and I went and showed the others. Armed with this new information, and our returned memories, we went to Lady Une. The Potters were subsequently arrested and Narcissa disappeared. We retrieved you from the Dursleys, and after extensive interrogation by Heero and Duo, found out that Hermione had been sent to a couple named the Grangers. James Potter was sent to Azkaban, and Lily was sent to Mars, as it was discovered that she was the mastermind behind the whole thing.”

“Why would she do that?” Harry shook his head. “In my memories, she died protecting me from Voldemort. I don’t get it. How could she be so different in the two timelines?”

“I’m afraid the only one who could answer that would be Lily Potter,” Trowa shook his head. “Unfortunately, she is imprisoned on Mars. However, I think we could arrange a trip if you would like to question her yourself.”

“I-I think I would,” the green eyed teen took a deep breath. “That’s not to say I don’t want to get to know all of you, and find out what I missed out on. But I think before I can do any of that I need answers. If that makes any sense?”

“It does,” Wufei put his arm around his son, choosing to ignore the tensing muscles at the contact. “We have all been there. I will arrange for our journey tomorrow. However, I think we should say good bye and get some sleep. You have a long day ahead of you.”

The other three teens winced in sympathy for their friend, before hugs were exchanged all around and the guests all made their exits.


	4. Necessary Conversations

Chapter 4: Necessary Conversations

 

Duo Maxwell walked out of the fireplace at Malfoy Manor behind his husband and son. He watched the teen head for the stairs before going over to his husband.

“Hey,” he slipped his arms around the taller man’s neck.

“You want something,” amused grey eyes regarded him.

“You,” Duo grinned, but quickly sobered. “After what happened with Harry today, and all that was brought up, I want to spend some uninterrupted time with you, but…”

“You need to talk to Draco,” Lucius finished for him.

“Yeah,” the braided man sighed. “Something’s been bothering him since before dinner and I really got to find out what’s going on.”

“I understand. Go talk to our son. When you’re done,” the blond gave him a seductive smile, “you can find me in our room. I’ll be waiting.”

Duo couldn’t resist, he stood on his tiptoes and kissed his husband. They stayed locked in each other’s embrace for several minutes before Duo forcibly broke it off. He held up his hand to the blond’s lips.

“I-I have to go,” he said breathlessly. “Dray. Hold that thought, please.”

“You’re right,” Lucius reluctantly released his hold. “Go take care of our son. We’ll continue this afterward.”

“Right,” the braided man turned and practically ran up the stairs.

Once on the landing, he took a moment to calm his raging libido so he could have a serious conversation with his son. He made his way over to Draco’s room and knocked quietly. After a moment, he heard his son grant him entrance. He took a deep breath and slipped quietly into the room.

“Hey, kiddo,” he closed the door behind him and made his way over to the bed where the teen was sitting. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Draco shrugged, leaning back against the ornate headboard.

“Liar,” his father got comfortable against the raised footboard, so they were facing each other. “You’ve been upset since before dinner, ever since you and the others went to talk with Harry. So, I’ll ask again, what’s going on?”

“It’s just not fair, Dad,” the blond ran his hands through his hair, tears pooling in his grey eyes. “Harry and I have been best friends for forever, we’ve been through so much together, and I want to be there for him in this, but he doesn’t trust me, hell, he doesn’t even like me. I just want my best friend back. But I don’t even know if that’s possible anymore.”

As he finished, he buried his face in his hands and started sobbing. Duo was at his side in an instant, and gathered his baby into his arms. They sat there like that for several minutes, Duo rubbing soothing circles on Draco’s back, patiently waiting for the boy to regain control.

“Feel better?” the braided man asked once the tears were finally spent, but he didn’t expect an answer. “Now, I know it’s hard. Trust me, I know. Not only did I go through something similar with your father when you were a baby, but I went through it with Trowa too, back during the war. It’s one of the hardest things you’ll ever have to go through, but Draco you can’t give up. If you do, then yeah, you’ll never get your best friend back. But if you don’t, and you prove to him that you are trustworthy and his friend, no matter what, then it’ll come back stronger and better than ever. And he may not realize it, but Harry needs you now more than ever. So fight for him, you’re my son after all, and I’m nothing if not stubborn. And who knows, maybe if you fight hard enough, you can move past the friendship stage, and into where you actually want to be.”

“Dad!” the blond cried scandalized.

“What?” Duo held up his hands. “I just call it like I see it. Anyway,” he leaned over and kissed his son’s forehead, “I’m gonna let you get some sleep now. Just remember what I said. And if you need us, your father and I are just across the hall. Goodnight, son.”

“Goodnight, Dad,” Draco smiled at him. “And thanks. You’re right, I can’t just give up on Harry.”

“I’m always right,” the braided man laughed as he left the room, making his way to his waiting husband.

888888

Alec stepped away from his fathers when they had Apparated into the foyer of their three story house, his dad affectionately dubbed the Freudian Slip. The teen sighed quietly before turning to head up to his bedroom. He stopped, however, when a hand landed on his shoulder.

“Why don’t we talk?” Sirius suggested quietly.

“I’ll get some hot chocolate, and we’ll talk in the living room,” Severus interjected.

“Do we have to?” the teen asked, shuffling his feet on the floor.

“Your posture says it all, Alec,” the Potions Master shook his head. “You are just like your father in that regard.”

“Yeah, you get all broody when you get upset,” the dog Animagus rolled his eyes, “just like Sev.”

Alec couldn’t help but chuckle at the couple’s antics. Most people couldn’t understand how his parents ended up together, and stayed that way for as long as they did, but he got it. His dads understood and read each other on a level that was almost psychic. It’s what kept their school rivalry so intense.

“Fine, let’s talk,” he said finally.

Sirius grinned and in one swift move lifted his son off the ground and tossed him over his shoulder.

“Dad!” Alec protested. “I’m not a little kid anymore.”

“You don’t think I don’t know that?” the Animagus laughed. “You’re not as light as you used to be you know.”

“Is that your subtle way of calling me fat?” he tried to maneuver himself so he could use his father’s face.

“If you don’t stop squirming, I’m going to drop you,” Sirius warned, still laughing, his son was so much like him.

“You always say that,” Alec finally joined in his father’s laughter. “And for as long as I remember, you have never dropped me.”

“That is because you were too young to remember the only time it did happen,” Severus said, entering the room with three steaming mugs of hot chocolate. “You were only two at the time, and I came in to see you flying over his shoulder. He had underestimated his strength and lost his grip. I managed to pull my wand and direct you safely to the nearest soft surface. Ever since that day, I have placed a silent sticking charm on you whenever I leave the two of you alone.”

“Gee thanks, Sev,” Sirius pouted, lowering his son back to his feet, “and after all this time I thought you trusted me.”

“I do trust you, Sirius,” the Potions Master shook his head as he sat in his armchair. “I just never wanted to relive the terror I felt in that moment.”

“I was more careful after that,” the Black heir pouted.

“I know,” Severus smiled faintly. “In fact, you didn’t do it for almost a year after the incident, until Alec begged you to. Now, as much fun as it is to reminisce on this matter, I believe we have other matters to discuss at the moment. Alec,” he turned his attention to his son, “tell us what’s bothering you.”

“Well,” Alec picked up his hot chocolate, but paused before taking a sip. “You didn’t use any potions in it, did you?” he locked gazes with his father.

“No, I did not,” the Potions Master shook his head. “I have never put a potion in your food or drink, except when I was testing your detection skills. I think you’ve been spending too much time with your uncles.”

The teen couldn’t help but smile, “I can live with that.” He took a sip of his cocoa. “So, I’m confused. After everything that’s come out today, I’m just not sure what happened.”

“We’re all confused about that, Lec,” Sirius shook his head. “What’s going on with Harry is really messed up.”

“That’s the thing,” Alec took a deep breath, “I’m not talking about Harry, that is screwed up and I don’t think any of us will truly understand it. But I’m talking about me. I wasn’t even in Harry’s alternate history, and you guys forgot me in this one. Uncle Trowa was the one that remembered. Dad, you’re one of the best Occlumens I know, how could you be whammied by a memory charm?”

“I have explained this before,” Severus sighed, “when I began teaching you Occlumency. The fundamentals of defending your mind from invasion through Legilimancy is vastly different from the effects of a memory charm. A skilled Occlumens can detect when a Legilimens is probing in their mind and can subtly redirect, block, or bring up specifically what they want to share, whereas with a memory charm, it is a nonspecific target on your mind and usually happens without the foreknowledge of the victim. In this specific case, you were taken away from us and our memories modified. Without you in the picture, there was no reason we would question the memories modified. Without you in the picture, there was no reason we would question the memories that we were given. However, because the charm was placed by an amateur in an emotional state, once you were returned to us, it did not take long for us to fully break the charm. Had circumstances been different, and someone competent had performed the spell, there’s no guarantee we would have ever remembered, even after you had been returned to us.”

“I guess that makes sense,” the teen sighed. “I just…”

“It hurts,” Sirius put his arm around his son. “We know. That’s one of the reasons we’ve never talked about it before. That incident broke our family apart, not only did it take you away from us, but they put your dad and I at odds. They not only took our memories of you but they planted fake memories that Sev and I hated each other. Even after you were returned to us, it took a while for us to get over those forced emotions and get back to where we were before and move on to where we are today.”

“But that is all in the past,” Severus interjected. “There is no changing it. All we can do is move on. We love you, Alec, and nothing is going to change that.”

“I love you, too,” Alec smiled faintly. “But I should probably go to bed, it’s been a long day. Thanks for the cocoa, Dad, and the talk. I’ll see you both in the morning.”

“Good night, Alec,” his parents chorused as he made his way up the stairs to his bedroom.

888888

Harry lay awake many hours after everyone had left for the evening. He knew he should be sleeping, his father, it was so weird thinking about that fact, had warned him it would be an early morning so he could be retrained, but he just couldn’t. There was just too much to think about.

The truth was, he really wanted to believe that what they were telling him was true. It was everything he had ever wanted. There were people who love him and wanted him for him, not because he was the Boy-Who-Lived, or the Chosen One, or the Defeater of Voldemort, or even the son of heroes, but just because he was Harry, or Hairu, or whatever. It was all he ever wanted out of life, a place that was his and his alone. But… but his current memories were keeping him from accepting it. Maybe if he understood why then things would be easier.

He rolled onto his side and stared unseeingly at the place where he knew the picture board was located. Of course, with his luck, this all could just be a cruel dream, and he could be dying, and this was just Death’s way of toying with him one last time. With that bleak thought in mind, he finally closed his eyes and let sleep claim him. He’d deal with whatever came next as he always did, with the reckless abandon of a Gryffindor.

_“Harry,” an airy disembodied voice called to him._

_Green eyes opened and he found himself floating in a misty gray void. He looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the voice. Through the gloom, a dark figure materialized. He squinted, trying to bring the figure into clearer focus._

_“Don’t strain yourself too hard, Harry,” the figure said, waving a dark hand and a chair formed out of the mist. “Please, have a seat, it’s time that you and I finally talked.”_

_“Who… who are you?” the teen took the proffered seat, he may as well be comfortable._

_“I have many names,” the other conjured another chair and took a seat across from him, “for this meeting you may call me Shinigami, for I am Death.”_

_As he sat, the figure became clear to his eyes. He was an average height male, with long brown hair pulled back into a braid, and glowing cobalt blue eyes. As Harry continued to study him, he couldn’t help but feel that he knew this man from somewhere._

_“D-Duo!” emerald eyes widened in surprised recognition._

_“No,” he shook his head. “As I said, I am Shinigami. Your godfather and I have an… understanding. Since you are now familiar with this form, and I find it highly comfortable, I chose it for this meeting.”_

_“So, you’re Death?” Harry ran his hands through his hair. “So I was right. I’m dead, or dying, and you’re just fucking with me.”_

_“Quite the contrary, Harry,” the braided man chuckled. “I have known you intimately since you were fifteen months old. You have come to me more times in your young life than most do in any single lifetime. You have accepted me on numerous occasions and rejected my Hallows, not once, but twice. And because of your willingness to change the past for others and not stick around to see how it would play out, I am giving you an opportunity. I have granted you this second chance, to see what your life would be like had Tom Riddle died that fateful Halloween night.”_

_“But I don’t remember any of it,” the teen interrupted. “What’s the point if I don’t remember?”_

_“I did that on purpose as well,” Shinigami smiled. “Your memories of this timeline will return to you, given time. I left you with your other memories so you could better appreciate what you now have, and what you did to bring it about. And don’t worry, your memories will always remain, even when the others come to the foreground, you will always remember what you lost, and also what you gained.”_

_“But…” Harry frowned._

_“Don’t question it too much, that’s why I came here in the first place,” the other laughed. “The more you accept what is going on, the easier your memories will come back to you. In the meantime, I will give you something to make things a bit easier on you, or at least so you won’t die come the morning.”_

_Shinigami reached out his hand and placed two fingers on Harry’s forehead, right where his scar used to be._

_“Farewell, Harry Potter, Hairu Barton-Chang,” the figure began fading from view. “Please do not seek me out. I hope not to see you again, for at least a hundred years or so. Till then, goodbye.”_


End file.
